Written by special contributor Lance Fleming
Each day, students across the ACU campus display the university’s mission to educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world through their actions and acts of service on the campus. Each year, students like those are nominated by their academic departments. From those nominations, 50 scholars are selected by the ACU Faculty Senate to receive the University Scholars Award for their graduating class.
Among those 50 scholars who demonstrated outstanding scholarship by maintaining a grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 or higher, earning 90 hours towards their degree, and continuing the pursuit of knowledge in their research field, seven are students from the College of Business Administration. The COBA students who received this year’s University Scholars Award are Kathryn Crawford, Gracie Isham, Matthew Roberson, Will Harris, Diego Lozano Welsh, Ben Blackmon, and Garrett Powell.
We have been highlighting each of those seven individuals over the last few weeks, including this profile of Ben Blackmon. A native of Allen, Texas, Ben recently graduated from ACU with a degree in Digital Entertainment Technology (DET) and a minor in Bible. He will be attending Guildhall SMU in the fall, a graduate program designed for video game development where he will be part of the level design track.
Ben has also been involved with SIGCHI, the leading organization for students and professionals interested in studying human-computer interaction. He also led the DET club this year as president.
Ben recently answered a few questions about his time at ACU and in COBA, covering everything from his most influential class to the most impactful experience he’s had while at ACU:
Q: What is the most important thing you’ve learned about yourself at ACU?
Blackmon: “The most important thing I’ve learned at ACU is that life isn’t about me. When you stop and consider the lives of everyone around you and how they are all experiencing life alongside you, it helps put things into perspective in a way that I hadn’t had previously. Even though I entered college knowing that life isn’t about me, it wasn’t until I grew up and matured that my life started to reflect that belief.”
Q: What professor or class has impacted you most and why?
Blackmon: “I think of all of the Professors that have impacted me, the most impactful has been Professor Rich Tanner. He was an excellent mentor and teacher, but he was a good friend when things became tough this semester. He has consistently been there for his students and has been there for us throughout all of our time here.”
Q: Of all the things you’ve experienced at ACU, what do you believe will have the most impact on your life?
Blackmon: “The most influential part of being a part of COBA is the staff. I know all of the SITC staff with whom I have had classes personally, and they have helped me grow tremendously. Even beyond that, for the one class I had with Dr. Andy Little for BLAW, he helped me when I struggled in his class. I have never been surrounded by a staff that has been so supportive, helpful, and instrumental to my growth at ACU.”